Heirs to the Forest

Delta Knight

Chapter One: Sacrifice

Night had fallen on the village of Konoha, but everyone was wide awake. Wide awake and afraid. For on that night, the Kyuubi had attacked the village. The entire shinobi corps, including all of ANBU, was deployed to ward off the demon, but to no avail. The Kyuubi was destroying everything in its path. The civilians were hiding out in the secret tunnels in the mountain, but they would not be safe for much longer.

Still, there were two shinobi that were not fighting the Kyuubi; not yet, anyway: the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

"Minato, please don't do it!" pleaded Kushina, her eyes welling up with tears. She was reclining on a hospital bed, having given birth a few hours earlier.

"Kushina, I must," responded Minato. "It is my duty, not only as Hokage, but as your husband, and as the father of our child, to make the world safe."

Kushina clutched onto the sleeves of Minato's cloak, as she cried, "If you go through with this, you'll die!"

"But if I don't go through with it, you, Naruto, and everyone else in the village, will," explained Minato, hugging his wife. "Believe me; I don't want to miss out on Naruto growing up, or to lose you two."

"Then why…?" Kushina's question faded into weeping.

"Because a great demon is attacking our village. As Hokage, it is my job to defeat any forces that threaten the village, and there is only one way to defeat such a beast," Minato told his wife.

At this point, Kushina was sobbing uncontrollably, so Minato merely held his wife close, and hugged her tightly.

"Kushina," he began. "I love you very much. And I always will. Before I go, I want you to make me one last promise."

Through her tears, Kushina managed to ask, "What?"

"Promise me that you will raise our son," Minato said.

"W-well of c-course!" Kushina stuttered. But even as she said this, she knew that she was having serious thoughts about ending her own life and following her beloved husband to the grave. It was a promise which she might not have thought of fulfilling, had Minato not asked.

"Kushina," he said. "Never forget."

With that, Minato kissed his wife, and went off to do battle with the Kyuubi, sealing it within his own son; it was the last jutsu Namikaze Minato ever cast.

Kushina was still in the hospital room where she had given birth to Naruto. He was lying on the floor next to her amid an organized mess of writing and candles, all part of the ritual that Minato had begun before he died. As she watched the red chakra of the Kyuubi swirl into Naruto's hours-old body, she knew that her husband was gone.

All she had left of him was their son, and his last wish.

Our son, Kushina thought, realizing the reason behind Minato's plea as a nurse brought the infant Naruto back into her arms. You of all children most need a parent to love you, to help you, and to protect you.

Five years later…

"Naruto, wake up," Kushina said to her son. "Are you ready for your first day at the Academy?"

Naruto's eyes opened at once, and he quickly got out of bed.

"Of course I'm ready!" said young Naruto.

"When you get dressed, there's some breakfast waiting for you in the kitchen," said Kushina.

"Thanks, Mom! You're the best!" Naruto said.

He hurriedly slipped out of his pajamas, and put on a white shirt with a red swirl on the front with green pants. He then ran downstairs to sit at his spot at the small table in the kitchen.

When Kushina brought him a large bowl full of ramen, Naruto said, "Itadakimasu!" and began to eat very quickly.

"Slow down, Naruto, you'll hurt yourself!" warned Kushina.

"But Mom, you just cook so well! It tastes so good!" Naruto told his mom.

Kushina nodded. Minato was the same way about my cooking, she thought. He's so much like his father.

Naruto tried to slow down, and partially succeeded. When he finished, he asked, "Mom, may I have some more?"

"No, that was the only ramen I made," replied Kushina. "In any event, you need to get going to the Academy."

"I know; I can't wait to become a shinobi, and then Hokage, just like Dad!"

"Just remember, Naruto, that nothing in life ever comes to you. You have to work hard for everything. There are no shortcuts, especially to becoming Hokage," said Kushina. "Do you have your backpack and lunch?"

"Yeah," said Naruto.

"Then let's go," said Kushina.

As Naruto and Kushina walked from their modest but practical house to the Konoha Ninja Academy, they attracted a curious combination of looks; people seemed to simultaneously look at them with respect and with hatred.

"Mom, why are people looking at us funny?" asked Naruto.

Kushina knew Naruto was talking about the looks of distaste; she thought for a moment, and then responded, "Because of something your father did a long time ago."

"What did he do?" asked Naruto.

"…" Kushina didn't respond at first; she didn't think Naruto could handle the knowledge that he contained the Kyuubi within himself at the age of five.

"Mom?" Naruto asked again.

"I'll tell you when you're older," she finally replied. "We're almost there. It's just around the corner to the left."

"Then I'll race you there, Mom!" exclaimed Naruto.

Kushina, with her past ninja career, could easily have outrun him, but she managed to stay just about even with Naruto, to humor him. When they got to the gate in the fence surrounding the Academy, Naruto put on a burst of speed and touched his hand to the fence.

"I won!" said Naruto.

Kushina just smiled and mussed with Naruto's hair.

"Now have a nice day, and make some new friends," said Kushina as she kissed Naruto on the forehead.

"I will, Mom, don't worry!" said Naruto.

"See you this afternoon, Naruto!" said Kushina as she began to walk home.

"Bye bye!" said Naruto, waving his hand.

Naruto began to walk over to the other kids. He was about to talk to a few of them, but they immediately turned away from him. Finally, there was one kid, who had black hair, black eyes, a blue shirt, and black shorts on, who not only didn't turn away, but actually spoke to Naruto.

"My dad told me not to talk to you, but I don't care. What's your name?" the boy asked.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I'm going to be the head of the Konoha Police Department when I grow up, just like my dad," explained Sasuke.

"Well, when I grow up, I'm going to be Hokage, just like my dad!" said Naruto.

Sasuke didn't exactly pale at this, but instead gave something more like a look of being defeated.

"Wanna be friends?" asked Naruto.

"Sure," said Sasuke.

As they shook each others' hands, a teacher wearing a green chuunin vest, a forehead protector that covered the whole top of his head, and, curiously, had a horizontal scar across his face, blew a whistle, and said, "OK, everyone. My name's Iruka, and I'd like to welcome you all to your first day of school at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Come inside, now; school's about to start."

All the kids shuffled into the simply built but large building after Iruka. When they were all inside, Iruka led the youngest students, the kids first starting at the Academy, a long way down the hall, to the auditorium. There, he began to address them.

"Once again, welcome to our school," Iruka began. "You and your parents have decided that you shall attend the ninja Academy, which Konoha allows as an alternative to regular schooling. The road to becoming a shinobi is long and difficult journey. We here at the Academy have much higher standards and requirements than regular schools, so if you can't keep your act together, you will not remain here. In addition to educational instruction, you will also be put through rigorous physical training. In seven years, you will be given the graduation exam. If you cannot meet the strict requirements of this exam, you will not become genin. Your seven years here will prepare you for the exam, and for the harsh life of a shinobi…"

Iruka kept on talking, but Naruto wasn't listening anymore. He was talking with Sasuke about what they thought being a ninja was like.

"My big brother Itachi says that we're going to get to go on missions where we fight other ninja from other countries," said Sasuke. For some reason, he had an unusual look on his face.

"Mom told me that there are different ranks of missions, and that jounin get the hardest ones. But when we graduate, we'll be stuck with dumb D-rank missions, like catching a cat," said Naruto. "Mom's a ninja, so she'd know."

"Well, my big brother's also a ninja, and he's in ANBU," said Sasuke.

"…So work hard, study smart, and learn!" Iruka concluded.

Naruto redirected his attention to the front of the auditorium.

"I'm Mizuki, the weapons instructor," said a grey-haired man next to Iruka. "Now follow me to your classroom."

The kids followed Mizuki down the hall, all the way to the other side of the building, near where they had entered.

"Nee, seems like they're making us walk a lot, Sasuke," remarked Naruto.

"Yeah," replied Sasuke. "But this is nothing compared to what they make us do in conditioning class."

"How would you know?" asked Naruto.

"My big brother told me," said Sasuke. Again, that same unusual expression appeared on Sasuke's face.

"What's up?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing," replied Sasuke.

"I'm not stupid, Sasuke," countered Naruto. "Something's up with you and your brother. You get this weird look on your face whenever you talk about him."

"He's not just my brother. He's my role model. He's so good at everything, and Dad's always talking about how he truly is his son."

"Does he ever say that to you?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke just looked down at his feet without saying anything. Naruto gave Sasuke a pat on the back to try and comfort him, saying, "Hey, don't worry, I'm sure that after we start learning stuff here, he'll notice you."

Sasuke smiled a little. "I hope so," he said.

They then entered the classroom. Naruto and Sasuke went up to a desk on the left, and sat next to each other. Iruka then took attendance.

Mizuki took out a scroll with writing on it and unrolled it. He pressed his hand on it, resulting in a cloud of smoke issuing from the scroll. An array of dark, metal weapons were visible when the smoke cleared.

"Does anyone know what each of these is?" asked Mizuki.

Naruto, Sasuke, and several others raised their hands. Mizuki looked around for a moment, and then asked Naruto to name each of the weapons.

"Well, the one on the far left is a standard kunai, to the right of it is a set of senbon needles, then a pair of small shuriken, then a large shuriken, and at the right end is a collapsible large shuriken," replied Naruto.

"Very good, Naruto," said Mizuki, turning to address the whole class. "There are hundreds of other ninja weapons, but these are the standard ones that most shinobi use."

"Good job, Naruto," commented Sasuke. "I didn't think you'd recognize the collapsible shuriken."

Naruto smiled broadly. "Then you'd be surprised to see what my mom teaches me at home."

"Your mom gives you help at home?" asked Sasuke.

"Well yeah," Naruto responded. "She says that if I'm going to become Hokage, then I better train to be ninja at home, as well as at school. Does someone in your family help you to be the police chief?"

Sasuke said, "Well, when Itachi doesn't have a mission, and he has lots of missions, he teaches me some jutsu."

"What jutsu can you do?" asked Naruto.

"Just a few taijutsu," answered Sasuke.

"Naruto and Sasuke, be quiet and pay attention!" said Iruka impatiently.

"Gomen," they both apologized in unison.

Later that day…

"Class dismissed," said Iruka.

All off the kids got their things together and left the building. Outside, everyone's parents were waiting for them to take them home, including Uchiha Fugaku and Uzumaki Kushina. When Kushina saw Naruto walking and chatting with another kid, she smiled. When they got to her, she asked, "Who's your friend, Naruto?"

"Mom, this is Sasuke," said Naruto.

"Hello, Mrs. Uzumaki," said Sasuke.

"Hello, Sasuke!" Kushina greeted happily. She was afraid that Naruto wouldn't be able to make any friends. "Would you like to come to our house for dinner sometime? Anyone who's a friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine."

"I'll have to ask my dad…" Sasuke said.

"Go ahead," encouraged Kushina. In reality, she doubted that the Uchiha patriarch would allow his son to dine with "the demon boy," but she still was optimistic.

Sasuke went up to his father on the other side of the courtyard. They started having a conversation, but Naruto couldn't hear most of it since the two were so far away. Sasuke returned with a slightly unhappy look on his face.

"Dad says I can't go," said Sasuke.

"May I have a word with him?" asked Kushina.

"I guess," said Sasuke.

Kushina then walked over to Fugaku, put her hands on her hips, and spoke angrily at him. After what could only be described as a shouting match, she returned to where Naruto and Sasuke were standing. She said, "It took a little persuasion, but your dad has changed his mind. Is it alright with you if you come over this Saturday at seven?"

"Sure, Mrs. Uzumaki," said Sasuke, smiling. He wanted to get to know Naruto better. He seemed like such a nice kid.

Saturday evening…

"Hey, Mom, what kind of ramen are we having tonight?" asked Naruto. His mom had told him to practice throwing kunai, so he was hurling some at a set of wooden targets in their back yard.

"No offense, Naruto, but since Sasuke is coming over, I'm making something more fitting to have when one has guests," replied Kushina from the kitchen.

"That's OK, Mom; everything you cook is great," said Naruto, "but your ramen is the best, you know!"

Kushina smiled at her son's praise. "Thanks, Naruto," she said.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Oh, that must be Sasuke," said Kushina. "Naruto, I'm busy cooking; could you get the door?"

"Sure Mom," responded Naruto. He ran to the front lawn by going around the house, and met a smiling Sasuke there; he was with his father, Fugaku, who seemed less happy.

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Naruto, running up to and stopping right in front of him.

"Naruto!" said Sasuke with equal emotion, letting Naruto run to where he was.

"Naruto," began Fugaku, "Where is your mother?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but Kushina peered out a window near the door, saying, "I'm in here, cooking dinner for these two delightful young boys!"

"Mrs. Uzumaki, may I have a word with you?" asked Fugaku, stepping over to the window.

"I thought I made things perfectly clear to you a few days ago," said Kushina, her voice dropping to a whisper so low that Naruto and Sasuke couldn't hear it. They decided to go inside. "Just because my husband sealed the Kyuubi inside of him doesn't mean that that's what he is. Look at him, listen to him, observe his actions; does he seem in any way malevolent to you?"

"He's still a child," said Fugaku, "and he is the Kyuubi."

"He is my son, Mr. Uchiha; my purpose for living!" Kushina responded. "I was so worried that Naruto wouldn't be allowed to make any friends this week because of parents like you. Then he met Sasuke, and I was so happy for him, because he will not have to grow up with myself as his only companion. I'm his mother, but I cannot be in the same classes as him, I cannot graduate with him, I cannot be on the same squad as him, I cannot take the chuunin exam with him. He needs someone like Sasuke for that.

"And besides, I thought little Itachi truly was your son."

Fugaku paused for a moment to come up with a counter to Kushina's argument. Failing to do so, he said, "First of all, he's not 'little Itachi' anymore. After all, he is a member of ANBU. Second, you are correct; he is my firstborn son, but he is more than that; he is also the most gifted shinobi Konoha has seen in decades. It would be wrong not to be proud of him. But I am still concerned for Sasuke; he, too, is my son. He does not quite meet the impossibly high expectations set by Itachi, and that is not his fault. He still is an honorable Uchiha, and I do not wish to have that honor stained by him becoming friends with Naruto."

"You mean Uzumaki Naruto, son of Fourth Hokage? Remind me again how this will 'stain the honor' of you son," asked Kushina. She knew the answer as well as Fugaku did, but she resented it.

"Besides, how many friends does Sasuke have outside of the clan? He needs Naruto, just like Naruto needs him."

"Sasuke needs no friends outside the clan. His family is sufficient for that purpose," said Fugaku. He knew he was losing the argument.

"I see it's going to take a lot to convince you that Naruto's a good person. I'll repeat myself: look at him, listen to him, and observe his actions. Watch him interact with Sasuke for the next two weeks. If he does anything even remotely resembling that demon years ago, you win. On the other hand, if Naruto proves that he is just as kind and considerate and sensible as other children his age, I win, and you will not interfere with our children's friendship. Sound fair?"

"Very well, Mrs. Uzumaki. I will let Sasuke go through this trial period. If your son passes, he will have earned my respect. But he's bound to slip up at least once, and when that happens, I will forbid Sasuke from being friends with Naruto."

"And I'm confident that Naruto is a human, not a demon; I know he has a good heart. In two weeks, Sasuke and Naruto will both still be friends," said Kushina. "Now I'm about to serve them dinner. Would you like to dine with us?"

"Thank you, but no, I have very much KPD paperwork to do," said Fugaku.

"Very well. Come pick up Sasuke in an hour, then," said Kushina.

"I will, Mrs. Uzumaki. Goodbye," said Fugaku as he walked away.

He probably doesn't have any more paperwork than usual, thought Kushina. But it's just as well; he would have made the atmosphere too serious for the two boys.

Kushina finished cooking the meal, and served the three spots at the table which she had set for Naruto, Sasuke, and herself. She then called the boys in, saying, "Naruto, Sasuke, supper time!"

Naruto ran in more enthusiastically than Sasuke did, but Sasuke wasn't far behind. When they got into the kitchen and saw teriyaki chicken on the table, Naruto exclaimed, "Wow, Mom, you almost never serve teriyaki chicken (though it still doesn't beat your ramen)!"

"Mrs. Uzumaki, there is much more meat on this dish than I'm used to…" Sasuke said.

"Oh, come on, Sasuke, don't tell me you don't like chicken!" said Naruto.

"Well, I'm curious as to the decision which led your mother to serve this," said Sasuke.

"If you must know, Sasuke," began Kushina, "it's because, now that you're training to be ninja, you're going to be exerting your muscles more. Therefore, you're going to need more protein in your diet, and an excellent source of protein is meat. Now let's sit down and eat."

Taking their seats at the small, square table, they each said, "Itadakimasu!" and began to eat.

Between bites, Kushina asked, "So, Sasuke, how is school going for you?"

Sasuke finished what he was chewing, then answered, "Considering that we haven't really started yet, and we're just doing get-to-know-each-other games, I'd say that question doesn't apply."

"My, my, Sasuke, you sure are more thoughtful than most kids your age," said Kushina.

Sasuke smiled.

Naruto quickly swallowed his bite and looked at his mom, wordlessly asking, what about me?

"I said most, not all, sweetie," said Kushina, noticing her son's look. "You're smart, too."

Naruto was contented by this.

"Sasuke, when did your brother join ANBU?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Itachi actually just took the ANBU application test a few months ago, right before summer. He passed with flying colors, according to him and dad," said Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why did you decide to attend the Academy?" asked Kushina.

"Sasuke wants to—" Naruto began.

"Naruto, let Sasuke answer," advised his mom.

"Well, since my dad is head of the Konoha Police Department, that's what I want to be when I grow up. And to be the head of the KPD, one has to be a ninja," said Sasuke. "Plus becoming a ninja is the honorable thing to do for the clan."

"Naruto, I'm sure you've told Sasuke why you're training to become a ninja," said Kushina.

"You bet, Mom; I'm going to be Hokage, just like Dad was!" said Naruto.

"That's a pretty big goal, though," said Sasuke.

"And yours isn't?" asked Kushina.

Sasuke replied, "Well, it's not that big…"

Two weeks later…

"OK, everyone, have a nice weekend," said Iruka.

While everyone left, Sasuke and Naruto went outside to see their two parents discussing something with each other on the other side of the courtyard. They saw Kushina talking to Fugaku and pointing at Naruto and Sasuke. When they approached, Kushina seemed to conclude her discussion with Fugaku.

"The two weeks are up," she said. "And Naruto has been on his best behavior."

"You cheat," said Fugaku. "You told him of our agreement, so he behaved better than usual to convince me."

Kushina responded, "Even if I did tell him, which I didn't, how would that be cheating? We never specified that in the deal. But it's a moot point, as I have not told him."

"Hmph," grunted Fugaku. "Very well, I will allow the friendship between the Kyu—your son and my son to continue, but I do so reluctantly."

"Oh, I'm sure that as the years go by, you'll get to know Naruto better," smiled Kushina.